Caring takes Courage
by Asher Elric
Summary: Nate hates getting shot, because then the rest of the team become protective and he can't get any peace. To the others, Nate being sick gives them a glowing opportunity they can't miss.
1. Chapter 1

_**Caring takes Courage (1/?)**_

_**Fandom – Leverage**_

_**Rating – pg13**_

_**Pairing – Gen**_

_**Warnings – typical violence**_

_**Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. **_

_**Summary – Nate hates getting shot, because then the rest of the team become protective and he can't get any peace. **_

There is a place for everyone and a job for everyone. Everyone knows exactly what is expected of them, and when things go wrong, it's not usually the Team's fault. The Mark either gets far too excited or agitated and then things take a different turn.

Surely standing in front of the Hitter is the wrong place to be when you're on the wrong end of a gun. And Nate could do well in a fight. Not as well as Eliot. But Nate learnt how to fight on the street as a teenager from the best thugs his father had employed to collect gambling debts. Still, with Eliot growling behind him, the Mark smirking and cocking the hammer back, all Nate could do was feint to the side and home to hell the bullet missed.

It didn't.

"Guys, please." Nate sighed exasperated. He was ensconced in his bedroom in his apartment with the rest of them standing around his bed. His bedroom is pretty boring by their standards. He only has a few mementos from when he was married, and the picture Sam drew him had honor on the right nightstand. There were a few lamps, a window with a brown shade that blocked out the sunlight now, and a TV. The attached bathroom was to the left with the closet and the door that led to the stairs is to the right.

He was dressed in hospital issued scrubs since the Doctor's had to cut away his clothes to get to his injuries. The bullet grazed his leg but didn't knick the artery; in that case there wasn't any way to save him. But he had to keep off his leg for a good five days to two weeks depending.

This meant that they all had to take some time off and take care of him; Sophie rallied them to this quest. And she seemed pleased that in some small way Nate was forced to rely on them. For everything; and maybe it was a bit embarrassing for him but Nate really didn't have a choice.

"We're not going to leave you here alone," Parker said. She pursed her lips.

"Yeah," Eliot agreed. He sported bruises from the fight but truth be told he was far too busy being pissed off at the Mark for shooting Nate that he didn't feel the punches that got through his defense.

"Yeah man, that was stupid!" Alec muttered. They were all sore at him, one way or another, for getting hurt on the job. Nate closed his eyes. Trying not to roll said eyes at them. When he opened them again he saw that they had taken the time to exchange worried glances.

"I did not set out to get hurt," Nate tried, "It was the gut or the leg, and I chose the leg." He shrugged.

"What?"

"Well, a gut shot is far worse to deal with." Nate replied. He'd had one of those two, early on in his Insurance days. He shuddered. Maggie had been beside herself with worry and while he had gotten over it; sometimes digestion was a pain in the ass.

"Next time stay behind me," Eliot muttered. He was far more angry at himself than at Nate. The whole thing had been an accident.

"Okay." Nate agreed, because he really just wanted them to go away. The whole ordeal had been very stressful.

"Well, I think we'll go down stairs and get organized, the pain meds they gave you at the hospital should knock you out in the next few minutes and we'll wake you up for supper." Sophie said, she clapped her hands and then shooed them downstairs.

Nate, finally alone, sagged into the bed. He was tired, and the pain meds hadn't dulled the pain much at all. His leg hurt like a bitch and he decided right then and there not to say anything about it to the Team. He always had this problem anyway. He couldn't change anything by complaining about it.

An hour later Parker softly poked Nate in the neck. He jerked awake, almost in a panic. But she just stared at him until he settled. Nate glowered up at her. "Must you do that all the time?"

"Yes." Parker replied, nonplussed. "Eliot let me help him with dinner," And then there was a tray and a set of strong hand helping him sit up and pillows being put behind his back. Eliot had made Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. There was a can of sprite and a glass of ice on the tray as well.

"And after you can take more meds," Sophie said. She and the others were setting up a small card table. They were going to have their family meal in Nate's room to keep him company.

Alec and parker kept up some nonsensical chatter; something about human behaviors and how there were some Parker shouldn't do even though she thought those were practical. Nate wasn't listening. He tried to eat. The meds made him sick and he felt like up cucking anything he chewed.

Eliot watched him; not in the way where he thought Nate hated how he cooked, Eliot was the best Chef around and they all loved it when he cooked for them. No, this "watching" was the sort Nate got from his Mother when she thought he was being mischievous and trying to con her.

"Hey man," Eliot's rough tone had Nate looking up from the plate. Alec, Sophie and Parker tried to keep up a softer conversation out of politeness. Nate knew they were listening in.

"Are you feeling sick?" is Eliot's next question.

Nate blinked. He hated to admit it but the food didn't smell good at all and his head was swimming. He felt like he was ten feet underwater. Even his ears were clogged.

"I'm fine," Nate replied and then went back to eating only because he knew he wouldn't get better if he didn't, and he also did not want Eliot to worry. The Hitter was a mother bear at times and could be worse about the medical aspect.

Eliot grunted and returned his attention to the other three at the table. Nate was glad for this, but now it'd be harder to keep them from seeing things he didn't want them to know.

"What was that all about?" Sophie asked. She and Eliot had kitchen duty while Alec and Parker kept Nate occupied upstairs.

"I think the meds are making him sick." Eliot replied gruffly.

Sophie clucked her tongue; "Why didn't he say something at the hospital?"

"He was out of it, remember? He kept talking about bunny tracks and conning the rabbits with the Pigeon Drop." Eliot replied. He loaded the dishes into the dish-washer while Sophie rinsed.

"That was entertaining, did Hardison get a recording of that?"

Eliot chuckled; "Yeah, we'll black mail Nate with it if he ever gets out of hand."

"Ooooh..he won't like that."

"Too bad, he was stupid enough to stand in my way." Eliot muttered.

"Don't be too hard on him, he did try to get out of your way, and from what I saw on the video feed that Mark surprised you both and Nate really wasn't trying to get hurt." She pouted at Eliot. Who sighed and had to admit, though not out loud, that she was right.

"I guess."

Sophie smiled.

"And besides, now we have him at our mercy."

"You are an evil woman," Eliot started the dish washer and Sophie topped off her wine glass. She decided to drink it in the living room instead of joining Alec and Parker. The Doctor had been strict on his instructions and alcohol was out for Nate.

"I don't think he's going to cooperate very well." Eliot said. They sat down on the couch; he had a beer in hand. It was nice to be alone, just them. Alec and Parker usually took the attention of the room.

They probably had Nate banging his head against something upstairs, and they were happy to leave them to it. It served Nate right. And besides, they hardly got his attention to themselves as it is.

"Nate is a hurricane." Sophie said, "he swirls into your life when you least expect it and then he runs out on you thinking you'll be all right. But, that's not the reality is it?"

"No."

"No. We do need him. We found that out when he was arrested for those six months. We needed him like a plant needs water. Without it we just dry up and wilt. He doesn't understand that."

"No."

"Am I just going to get one word replies?" Sophie teased lightly.

"So how do we make him realize that we need him?" Eliot asked, not willing to make a metaphor himself; mostly because metaphor's are silly things.

"He needs us now to help take care of him. We need to impress upon him that we need each other. That he can stop hating himself and what he has become because we love and accept him for what he is." Sophie explained softly, gently.

Eliot scrunched up his eyebrows but didn't say anything for a long time.

"It'll have to be subtle," he muttered.

"You don't do subtle."

"I can when I want too." Eliot shrugged. He swigged his beet and Sophie sipper her wine.

"Well, we shall work on it in the morning. When we're done we'll get Parker and Hardison to let Nate be, he's probably going crazy." Sophie giggled. It wasn't a girlish giggle either; it was a giggle of a very classy, very evil woman.

Eliot shook his head. Nate is in good hands, as long as it was theirs and not someone else's.

Nate sighed. He felt hot and sweat was pouring from his brow as if he'd run a twenty-mile marathon. He had the ceiling fan running at high and the clock blinked, in red letting, that it was one in the morning.

He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since Sophie pulled Alec and Parker away at ten and sent them to their "home" (because it seemed that everyone just lived at his place) and Eliot helped him to get ready for bed. It was awkward and neither said anything. But the job got done and he'd been dressed in soft pj's and tucked (actually tucked) into bed. Eliot had threatened him a bit with a "I'll be down stairs" before disappearing and Nate tried not to move around in bed too much.

Of course those god awful pills had been shoved (well, not shoved exactly but close enough) down his throat and the pain dulled for ten minutes before it was roaring back to life.

Nate sat up and shucked his pj top and threw it onto the floor. He would open a window but walking hurt, and no way in hell was he going to ask Eliot to do it for him.

One because Eliot claimed he only sleeps for 90 minutes a day, which had to be bullshit. Secondly, if Eliot were asleep, Nate wasn't going to disturb him. It wasn't worth it. Really. He'll soon grow cold (because Boston is fucking cold in November) and he'd ensconce himself in the blankets once again. Still he felt as if he were burning up from the inside and it sucked balls.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**_Caring takes Courage (2/?)_**

**_Fandom – Leverage_**

**_Rating – pg13_**

**_Pairing – Gen_**

**_Warnings – typical violence_**

**_Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. _**

**_Summary – Nate hates getting shot, because then the rest of the team become protective and he can't get any peace. _**

**_A/N - I am debating on weather or not this will be Eliot/Nate. I think I'll go with gen for now but that could change. I also apologize for the sudden plot but I realized I needed something else. _**

**_0000_**

Macey McCormick glared at the computer screen. In black and white footage she could clearly see a tall, black male, messing around with her computer in her office just hours before she found out that their internal Ethernet security had been breached.

She pursed her heavily, red lip-stick, lips and turned to her head of security. Rebecca didn't budge. She sat in a leather chair with a glass of water. Usually whenever Macey turned this glare on people they got nervous, but Rebecca, being the younger sister, had been the victim of it so many times that she no longer gave a care.

"So," Macey drawled, "do you know who this person is?"

"Alec Hardison," Rebecca replied, she flipped her long, brown braid, over one shoulder so she could play with the end of it. "Besides Chaos, he's one of the best Hackers in the world. He used to work solo, but about three years ago he started to work on a team. They take down people like us." Rebecca replied, bored of this all ready.

"And why would he con his way in here to get to my computer files?" Macey asked.

"I guess it has something to do with you cheating a bunch of people out of their hard earned cash in that ponzy scheme of yours, or maybe laundering the money for the mob, take a guess. They eat people like us for breakfast." Rebecca rolled her eyes. She hated when Macey had to ask stupid questions.

"All right, so we need that information back, Pronto." Macey sighed. She stretched her back and cracked her knuckles as she thoughts.

"Okay, I want the Mastermind." Macey said after a few moments of silence.

"Nathan Ford? You want me to kidnap him? You do know their hitter is Spencer right?" Rebecca was now interested and surprised. Her sister could do some really stupid stuff, but this one took the cake.

"And what is your problem with that?" Macey narrowed her eyes and glared some more. Rebecca waved her hand at Macey.

"Eliot Spencer is one of the best Hitter's. He's ex military, he's a Master Marksman, he's an Assassin. Do you honestly think we stand a chance against him? Now, I don't think they'll bring anyone else in but seriously, what if he brings in Quinn or that Israel Hitter?" Rebecca shook her head. "I'm good but that's just crazy talk."

"I don't care. Find Ford and bring him here, they'll do anything we want to get him back." Macey slammed her hand on the desk. Rebecca rolled her eyes, finished her water and then stood up.

"Sometimes there just isn't any talking to you." And with that she stormed off to figure out a way to kidnap Nathan Ford. Once an Insurance Investigator; now turned Thief.

**0000**

When Parker showed up at the Apartment/Offices above the Irish Pub she found that the couch was still half hazard-ly made into a bed. Eliot was nowhere in sight and the coffee maker wasn't brewing. Parker shrugged and went over to try and be helpful. Nate had taught her how to make the coffee and so sometimes she liked to surprise him. He'd want some this morning, she was sure.

She dumped three table spoons into the paper cup, put the cup into the other thing that the water went into – and then into the pot – before filling it with water and pressing the button.

Nate wasn't as tech savvy as Alec, so this coffee machine was very easy. Parker tried to make coffee at Alec's place once – two floors up from the offices – but she ended up breaking it. She didn't know why Alec had to have everything be so complicated.

Sometimes it was nice to be in a quiet place listening to the coffee machine percolate and let the air fill with the smell of it. At least, it always seemed to calm Nate down.

From above she heard footsteps; and curious, she made her way upstairs. The spiral staircase was pretty but wasn't very practical. Anyway, she soon found Eliot hefting a naked Nate into the bathtub.

The poor man was sweating horribly and his curly, dark brown hair was plastered to his face. The bandage had come off his leg, but Parker didn't see anything oozing from it, so there couldn't be an infection.

"Do you need any help?" she asked from behind Eliot who, free of his burden, swiftly took the shower curtain in hand and closed it so that Parker wouldn't get an eyeful.

"Ah…when'd you get here?" Eliot asked; trying to look as if she hadn't startled him. She decided not to tease him about it, at least, not now.

"A few minutes ago, is Nate all right?"

"His fever has gone up," Eliot said, he was worried but he tried to hide it behind his usual gruffness.

"What are you going to do?" Parker asked.

"Were you ever sick as a kid?" Eliot asked, gently.

Parker nodded.

"Do you remember when someone would put a cold wash cloth on your forehead and you felt a little better?" Eliot asked, hoping someone was nice enough to do that. Parker nodded again.

"Well, this is kinda the same thing, except a bathtub of cold water. Nate is going to hate it but I have got to get his fever to break or he's going back to the hospital."

"Nate doesn't like hospitals," Parker cringed.

"Right. So get out so we can have some privacy, he wouldn't want you to see him like this anyway." Eliot said, and shooed her out of the bathroom. He promptly shut and locked the door. It wouldn't stop Parker if she thought she needed to be in there, but she could take a hint. So she shrugged and skipped back down stairs.

**0000**

Nate came too in ice-cold water.

Eliot had a thermometer in Nate's mouth and was watching it very carefully. Nate felt tired, even though he'd just woken.

"I thought you were going to call me if you needed me?" Eliot was frowning. His voice rough and Nate suddenly felt rather guilty.

"I didn't mean to worry you." Nate muttered. Too tired to deal with Eliot right now but hadn't another choice.

"It's not looking good." Eliot muttered.

"Is the wound infected?" Nate asked. His leg thrummed in time with his heart and felt like the beating drums of a samba.

"Not that I can tell." Eliot got up and grabbed a towel.

"We'll have to keep an eye on it for the rest of the day, but it's been a half hour. I don't want you to get frost bite or something." Eliot said as he helped Nate to stand. Nate wasn't able to balance very well due to his leg shooting pain up his spine. He tried not to cringe, to hold it back, but Eliot saw. He almost always did.

"I'll get you some pain meds too."

"All right," Nate agreed, even though he didn't want to feel sick again, he did it only because he probably should have asked for Eliot to help him sooner. Instead of discovering how bad the fever had gotten that morning when Eliot had checked on him.

"I swear man, this is the only time." Eliot deposited Nate on the bed and then handed him some boxers. Nate was careful pulling them on, but he had enough of Eliot seeing him naked. He felt much better once that was taken care of.

"You do know I've seen my fair share of naked men, right?" Eliot rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but does that mean you want to see me naked?" Nate quipped. Eliot shook his hair out of his face as he handed the meds and a glass of water to Nate. He swallowed both as fast as he could.

Nate pulled on some sweat pants and a t-shirt afterwards. They were fresh from the dryer.

"Who…?"

"Parker must have while we were busy in the bathroom." Eliot bullied Nate into bed and pulled the covers up.

"Stay here, I'm going down to make breakfast." And without another word or a glance behind him Eliot was gone.

Nate yawned. He didn't feel like there was a fire within him trying to get out, but he didn't feel warm either. The cold water had done it's job but he hoped he wouldn't be freezing in the next few minutes. He'd also have to come up with something big to thank Eliot with; that man put up with a lot from him as it was.

Seconds later, Nate was sound asleep. Not even caring about the bickering or the slamming of pans that came from down stairs.

**0000**

Sophie found the three in the dinning room with Eliot growling threats at Alec and Parker to not go upstairs to bother Nathan. He brandished a pan at them and the room smelled like pancakes.

"What'd I miss?" she asked, her cultured tone distracting them from their fight, they weren't being very loud, thank goodness but they could yell when they wanted. She was glad they had enough presence of mind to keep their voices to a minimum.

"Nothing," Parker chirped. She drizzled Canadian syrup all over her pancakes and dug in because now that Sophie was here she'd put an end to whatever they'd been arguing about.

"Hardison wants us to take a job," Eliot glared, "without Nate."

"It's an easy job, we've done it a hundred times by ourselves, it wouldn't be any different together." Alec shrugged. He was half done with his pancakes, obviously not letting the argument sour his apatite. Especially when Eliot cooked.

"Well, it'd keep some of us out of trouble," Sophie rolled her eyes. She took a plate and helped herself to a couple of the cakes but didn't bother putting anything on top. She tore a bit up and put it into her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully.

"How is Nathan, by the way?" she asked Eliot.

"His fever was high this morning, I had to dump him into an ice cold bath. I got him back to bed and I'm about to go see if he's awake. I gotta get him to eat something." Eliot softened a little bit.

He went back to the kitchen and found a box of oatmeal in the pantry, peaches and cream, one of Nate's favorite flavors. No one touched it for their own private, and secret reasons.

"You've been here all night, I can check on him if you want." Sophie replied.

Eliot grunted non-committedly; "They make him sick."

"What?" Parker's head came up, a bite halfway to her mouth. "What?"

"The meds the Doctor's gave him. I don't think Nathan told them everything at the hospital after they patched him up. Didn't you notice him last night?" Eliot glared at the three of them.

"I guess he did look like he was forcing himself to eat." Parker replied, unperturbed with Eliot's bad attitude. He was tired. He probably didn't get all of his 90 minutes of sleep.

"I thought he just pushed the food around to make it look like he was eating, something kids do often if they feel sick." Sophie put in.

"How do you know anything about kids?" Alec asked.

"I did a long con at an elementary school in Mississippi once." Sophie shrugged.

"Anyway, I think we should find meds that'll do the same thing the Doc's gave him but won't make him sick." Eliot brought them back on track.

"We're not doctor's." Alec frowned as he typed furiously on the laptop.

"I know some who wouldn't ask questions given how much we pay them. They can come look at him, and give us a prescription and we can pick it up. Or we do the research and Hardison can make it happen." Eliot elaborated on his plan.

"Hold up, I don't think it's a good idea to change up Nate's meds on the fly. If it were a cold or the flue or some shit like that, fine, but I think we should get an actual Doctor to change the prescriptions." Alec shook his head wildly.

"I agree, Doctor," Parker nodded.

Eliot grunted, he really didn't care that the thought they had won this argument since that was what he wanted in the first place.

Sophie, by now had finished her pancakes and stood up from the table, "I'll just take a quick gander at Nate. You make the call." And with that she left.

**0000**

Nate woke when a light hand shook his shoulder a bit and a soft, British accent, said his name. That last thing he remembered was Eliot helping him back into bed after that cold ass bath. He couldn't say he felt any better now and his leg was killing him. He also had a headache and things ached like there was no tomorrow.

"Why do I feel like I got run over by a truck?" Nate asked, his voice gravely as Sophie helped him to sit up. She reached for the cup of water that was on the bedside table. She tested it with the tip of her finger, making sure it was somewhat cold, before handing it to Nate.

"Why didn't you tell us the meds we got from Hospital made you sick last night?" Sophie asked. Nate took a few small sips of water, and looked to actually be thinking about his answer.

"I forget I can't keep anything from you guys." He muttered.

"That's right, now fess up."

"I dunno, it's always been like that, even as a kid." Nate shrugged.

"So, you just suffered through it?" Sophie asked, she seemed to have a lot to ask of him that morning.

"Yeah. It's that or not take 'em and put up with the pain." Nate said it as if it were the only two choices he had in the world. Sophie sighed and clucked her tongue at him.

"Eliot seems to be mad about it." She said after a few moments of silence where Nate sipped more water.

"I…I made a mistake." Nate sighed. He really hated admitting things he did wrong. Sophie waited for him to elaborate and when he figure she wouldn't go away until he did he started talking.

"I knew I had a fever last night, and I know Eliot stayed to help if I needed him. I didn't think I needed him and he found me in a bad state. He's mad at me because I didn't ask for his help when I first realized I had a fever." His voice had grown softer as he lent against the pillows, growing tired with every word he said.

Sophie, however, could tell that Nate was being truthful. He wouldn't be able to con anyone in this state, even if his life depended on it. Shame. He was very sexy when he conned people (except them of course, but then Sophie hadn't a leg to stand on in that department either).

"Stay awake, Nate, Eliot wants you to eat something. Okay?"

Nate nodded and rubbed at his eyes. "I can…hardly think…."

"Hey!"

Eliot started Nate awake. He had a bowl in his hands of the soft mush people liked to call oatmeal. He'd make home made for Nate one of these days, but the packages will do for now.

Nate took the bowl carefully. He felt wibbly-wobbily in the head and his vision was fazing in and out at the edges.

"Try to eat what you can, okay Nate?" Eliot asked though he didn't really need an answer.

"I'll try and help Nate if you need to go do something else," Sophie suggested quietly. They took a few paces away from the bed and Nate just stared at the bowl for a few seconds before he picked up the spoon and tried to eat. No way was he going to let them spoon-feed him too. Eliot had all ready seen him naked as the day he was born. That was enough embarrassment for the day.

**0000**

"I guess he's too out of it to think about being sick." Sophie said quietly.

"The Doc will be here soon. I've used him before and he's good. Better than the one's at the Hospital at least." Eliot replied. Sophie nodded and Eliot returned down stairs to keep an eye on Alec and Parker who were currently going for plans for their new job.

They wouldn't be able to con the mark with Nate down for the count; or with Eliot and Sophie taking turns taking care of their Mastermind. But, Alec can hack anything with a computer and Parker could get into any place she wanted. All they needed was a foolproof plan.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Caring takes Courage (3/?)_**

**_Fandom – Leverage_**

**_Rating – pg13_**

**_Pairing – Gen_**

**_Warnings – typical violence_**

**_Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. _**

**_Summary – Nate hates getting shot, because then the rest of the team become protective and he can't get any peace._**

**_A/N - This chapter would have been done earlier if I hadn't been interrupted so often today. Also. I checked my spell check and edited it as I went. I hate editing. I think it's readable. Enjoy. _**

**_0000_**

**_PART 3_**

Doctor Jason Mimms was not an old Doctor like most in his shady profession. Instead he worked part time at one of the most Prestigious teaching Hospitals and had his private, backroom practice. He took care of patients who got shot in shady situations but didn't want the police involved. He's twenty-nine years old, has deep brown hair, is rather tall and did not wear a white coat to his appointment with Nate.

Eliot had a big smile on his face when he saw Jason; they embraced and talked fast for a few seconds before Eliot introduced him to the team. Jason and then the Doctor whisked upstairs by the Hitter to take another look at their Mastermind.

"The wound looks clean." Jason muttered. He sat by the bed on a stool. Carefully he pulled the bandages back to get a good look at the stitched up hole a .22 had left. "It didn't knick the artery either. If that had happened you'd have been dead." He said, but he wasn't actually looking for an answer.

Eliot stood behind him, watching Jason very closely with his arms folded before his chest but didn't say anything either. Nate simply lays on the bed, half asleep, not caring either way.

"And you say the pills you got make him sick?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to find something that helped him not be sick. A different pain medication or whatever." Eliot grunted softly.

Jason nodded. He shone a light in Nate's eyes and looked into the mouth afterwards.

"How high was the fever before the ice bath?" Jason asked.

"Over a hundred."

"And recently?"

"Maybe ninety-nine."

Jason nodded and took a thermometer out of his bag, one that he could throw away, and stuck it in Nate's mouth. "A rectal measurement would be far better but I think this as close as we're gonna get. I don't think it's an infection. I think he just hasn't given himself much time to relax from whatever it is you do and has run himself into the ground."

"So he's just sick?" Eliot asked. Confused.

"I say it's a cold, but it could become worse if it's not taken care of and with the added benefit of his leg wound…." Jason sighed.

He didn't say anything, and when the time was up he took the thermometer out of Nate's mouth and held it up so he could get a good look at it.

"It's a bit below a hundred but not at the normal range at all. His fever is being rather contentious right now." Jason tossed it into a nearby waste bin.

"Should he go to a hospital?" Eliot asked.

"If you feel better that way," Jason shrugged. "Or you could just keep doing what you are doing. I say another ice bath this evening or if his fever gets higher. Sometimes these things just have to burn through. It's the body's way of fighting off the infection."

"So I am not risking his life by not taking him to the Hospital?"

"Not in the least, he'll be fine there or here. They'd just do the same things I'm going to tell you to do. First off; bland food and lots of fluids. I don't care if you have to set up an IV or force feed it to him." Jason put his equipment away in his black, Doctors bag.

"Make him stay in bed, of course, and I'll prescribe something to make sure the meds don't make him even more sick. I'd have prescribed them myself but sometimes Doctors forget that their patients are different and won't react the same way to the same medications." Jason said. He pulled out a pad and scribbled something onto it.

"Call me if his condition changes."

Eliot and Jason went back downstairs and left Nathan to sleep. Jason gave the same talk to Alec, Parker and Sophie before leaving. Alec took the prescription note to put into the nearest Pharmacy's computer order for that day.

"Okay, it'll be ready in a couple hours and they'll ring us when it's done." he said.

Eliot nodded. "I'll get some more stuff for Nate when I go to pick it up." He muttered.

"Eliot, are you sure Mimms won't speak to anyone about Nate?" Sophie asked. She couldn't change things now, it was too late and Mimms had a lot of intelligence on them.

"You remember when I hugged him?" Eliot asked, trying not to be too annoyed, appreciating that Sophie was worried for Nate just as much as he is.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Well, I was checking him for bugs, a weapon, anything else that could put us in danger. He was clean." Eliot explained. Sophie nodded but worried at her bottom lip anyway.

0000

An hour later it's Sophie whose gotten an eyeful of Nate as she helps him out of the sweat soaked clothing from that morning and into another cold bath. "I'll warm it up before you get out so you that you can wash." She said as she sat on the toilet. Not at all bothered by the fact that she's got the great Nathan Forde naked, in front of her.

Probably because this was not the situation she envisioned when she fantasized about Nate being naked, and in front of her. He lay there; quiet and drawn looking. He was white as a sheet as the saying went and he'd thrown up just before she'd gotten him into the bathtub. He must feel miserable, and Sophie tried to be as gentled with him as she could.

Eliot had warned her about Parker and so she had made sure to give Parker and Alec something to do while she helped Nate in the bathroom. Right now the two were stripping the bed and putting new sheets and blankets on. Nate threw up all over the place and all of it had to be washed now.

She could hear them bickering slightly about the new job. She couldn't catch much because the door muffled a lot of their words and they were trying to keep their voices down. It wasn't like they were horrible without Nate making all the plans.

At various times he'd let everyone take point on a con. Alec had forced his way in a couple of times and Nate had taken the second time with far more grace than the first. She wondered though if Nate really hated it but was able to hide it from them. He'd at least respected her reasons for wanting to take head on a con. Even though it turned out badly.

Nate took this moment to groan. He wiped a hand over his face and bent his knees. Water sloshed about but Sophie simply watched as pail blue eyes finally deigned to look around and take stock of the situation.

"What…?"

"Sorry Nate, you threw up all over the place and your fever was a bit high. I thought I'd try to lower it." Sophie explained. Nate blinked at her.

"I've got Hardison and Parker changing the bed." she said.

Nate finally nodded; "sorry."

"No problem at all," Sophie smiled. "Eliot went to get a prescription to help with that; and other things for you. He won't be too happy that you weren't able to hold the oatmeal down tough."

"Wasn't there someone else here?" Nate asked. Confused. He didn't seem at all bothered about Sophie seeing him naked. She wondered if that's because they'd been intimate before and with Eliot it was just a bit weird for Nate because the didn't have a very close friendship.

"Doctor Jason Mimms is a friend of Eliot's. He was concerned because he noticed you didn't eat a lot last night and he wanted a second opinion. Anyway, he prescribed you something to help you with the other meds." Sophie shrugged. She dipped a red washcloth into the clear cold water and move from the toilet seat to sit on the floor by the tub. Slowly and ever so softly she ran the wet washcloth up Nate's chest. It was not a sensual move or sexual in the least. She just needed something to do; some way to help him. She needed a little bit of control.

Nate, sick as he was, as out of it as he is, saw what she needed and didn't say anything about having to do it himself. He glances down to watch her run the cloth along his skin. He feels like he's on fire again. The cold helps.

"Sophie," Nate mutters, he's tired but the meds have worn off enough that he is actually aware of his surroundings, "don't worry about me."

Sophie clucks her tongue at him. "I will worry about you but this is about something more. Nate."

Nate frowns; "What?"

"It's about you trusting us, Nate." She clucks her tongue at him.

Nate puts his hand over hers, stopping the circular motion; "who ever said I didn't trust you?"

"Well…"

"Was I too controlling on that job?"

"Not really, or, no more than usual," Sophie muttered.

"I do trust you, I trust all of you. I trusted you from the start really. Hardison, Eliot and Parker took a little bit longer but I brought you in. Remember?"

"No, you needed me because Dubenich knew you and the others, I was a new face. That didn't mean you trusted me." Sophie rolled her eyes.

"Sophie, I trusted you to carry that whole con because he knew the rest of us. I sent you into the lion's den and you came out all right because I trusted you to do your job. Now, if it's not the job you're talking about than is it in private?" Nate rubbed his eyes; he is tired but willing to persevere if she needed him too.

"Oh Nate," Sophie lent up and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Trust us to take care of you, all right?"

Nate gazed at her, confused. Finally he nodded. "Just this once."

Sophie laughed lightly, "Just this once."

0000

Eliot, being the professional that he was, knew that he was being watched the instant he stepped outside the apartment building. The street looked normal enough. The same old cars parked in the same fashion, people passing the Irish pub or going inside for a drink. But, something stood out. A big, black, SUV at the corner; to anyone not trained like him it wouldn't look out of place. Eliot sneered and bulled out his ear bud. He flicked it on and put it into his ear.

"We have company." He muttered loud enough to the bud to pick up.

"_What?" _Hardison replied. Eliot could hear the clicking of keys as Hardison went to his ever present computers.

"There's a black SUV on the corner."

"_I see it…._" more typing, and then "_BUSTED! I reported the car and got some cops out. They think its drug dealers. They'll be busy for a while."_

"Good. Now, you get busy and find out whose people they are and if they're a threat to us. Lock the door, keep Parker and Sophie from going outside until I get back." Eliot ordered.

"_Fine, fine, Mr. Bossy…."_ Hardison muttered.

Eliot ignored him.

0000

"What's happened?" Parker asked. She'd just thrown the sheets into the wash and now all she had to do was wait for the bell to ring before she could do any more laundry.

"Eliot thinks someone may be casing out our place." Alec replied. Parker frowned and jumped over the couch to sit on it with her legs crossed.

"Have you found anything?" she asked.

Behind them on the video monitor the police were asking the men to step out. They handcuffed two, burly men and then searched the van. Alec didn't have any sound. It is still quite obvious to Parker what's happening.

"I'll run their ugly mugs through my facial recognition software. They're probably just hired muscle." Alec explained.

"Do you think they saw Mimms coming in here and everything? I mean, I knew about Nate before he turned but…" Parker trailed off.

"Oh?" this was too interesting to give up now.

"It was in Cairo. I stole Nefertiti's staff. And IYS took it personally and sent Nate after me. Anyway, he got it back but he was waiting for me. I just slipped out the hotel." She looked pointedly at the stairs.

"Still in the bath tub?"

"Yeah."

"Sophie's with him, it's fine. I didn't meet him before our first job together but I heard about him. He was the scariest man for IYS to set on people. I hacked their mainframe once, and boy, was he a workaholic," Alec whistled.

"Didn't he chase you too?" Parker asked.

"He's not as dumb about computers as he pretends, he's no where near my level. But he was sneaky. It was almost too late when I caught on to what he did." He sighed.

"What'd he do?" Parker asked, intrigued.

"He found one of my backdoors and sent a tracker Trojan. He almost caught me." Alec held up his thumb and forefinger to make a measurement that didn't exist. "He missed it by that much!"

Parker giggled.

"Anyway, after that I shored up my back ends so he couldn't do that shit to me."

"Wow, Nate sure does have a lot of talents," Parker giggled. Alec rolled his eyes. He sat down on the couch beside her.

"So…let's see what we can find about these guys and who might be spying on us…"

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Caring takes Courage (4/?)_**

**_Fandom – Leverage_**

**_Rating – pg13_**

**_Pairing – Gen_**

**_Warnings – typical violence_**

**_Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. _**

**_Summary – Nate hates getting shot, because then the rest of the team become protective and he can't get any peace._**

**_A/N - Sorry that this has taken me so long. I've been trying to figure out the plot and what to do next and stuff. I don't think anyone will be disappointed. There will be more Nate Torture in the future. Not much. No worries. Anyway, thanks for reading. _**

**_0000_**

**_Part 4_**

**_0000_**

Rebecca sat in the hot tub and gazed at the flower garden. She and Macey shared the Mansion that sit outside of Boston and which is easily an hour's commute to their offices. Neither of them cared, it was big enough for the both of them and sat in a quiet neighborhood. They had a huge yard, which partially went to Rebecca's rose garden. She'd ensconced the hot tub so well that no one would know it was there unless she or Macey revealed it's location.

It is very private.

Which is good because one only plans a murder in private. Rebecca had the jets going and she sipped at a Vodka Martini. There was also a glass of ice water at her elbow. She scrunched her brows and watched the water rove over her body.

Killing isn't the sort of thing she'd gravitate towards naturally, that is more Macey's thing. Macey is a moron though, so Rebecca doesn't think her plans will come to any sort of fruition. Which means that Rebecca not only has to clean up after Macey but have contingency plans involved as well.

The problem with taking Ford, alive or dead, is that his team is rather protective of him. Well, to be fair they are protective of each other. Ford went to jail for them, he destroyed evidence for them. He not only saved his reputation as a Mastermind by going to the clink for them, but they respected him more for it, not that they'd admit it.

Rebecca snorted at herself; she could only make suppositions on the team's feelings toward Ford. But everything she'd been able to dig up on them led her to believe that they thought very highly of Ford despite his rather stupid honest streak making an appearance every once in a while.

Still, she liked the idea. It was noble.

They would do anything for Ford; and that is their weakness. She nodded and sipped at her drink, she would have to take the whole team down to make sure they didn't destroy her. She didn't care what happened to Macey. If she happened to get in the way, well, that was problem.

Rebecca turned her thoughts over to how she'd get rid of each team member, individually would work best. She decided.

And boy did she have ideas for all of them.

_**0000**_

"Are we seriously going to do this while Nate is hurt?" Eliot asked as he sat down at the "desk" area before the wall of screens. Parker and Sophie had joined him and Alec and now they were waiting for the run down.

"Life doesn't stop just because one of us gets hurt." Alec rolled his eyes. He took the remote and flicked a button.

"Macey McCormick and her sister Rebecca run a multi-national, fortune 500 company. Basically it's all gimmicks to get people to waste their money with promises that never work out in the end; mostly stuff for stay at home moms and what have you. They promise that their techniques will make people lots of money, minus taxes, and then they want you to buy in. Then you buy a manual. Then you go to a convention at a hotel. It's just a bunch of busy work." Alec switched the screens to show the goons Eliot had reported on.

"These two are Stefans and Vilis. They're from Latvia. They shouldn't have been caught off guard so easily yesterday, at least, according to what I dug up on them." Alec said, impressed as always with his own talents.

Eliot rolled his eyes; "They're ex-Israeli soldiers; they're also assassins; if the McCormick's hired them than they're intent on getting the job done. A little heat from the police isn't going to stop them. It's just going to make them more cautions."

"Thank you for the interruption," Alec glared. Eliot glared back.

"But what are they after?" Sophie put out, distracting the two boys from their stair down contest. "Why did the McCormick's send them here?"

There is a pregnant silence with Parker and Alec looking very guilty; they felt like they got caught red handed with their hands in the open safe.

"What did you do?" Eliot deadpanned, sounding more like a perturbed father than the Hitter he actually is. He glared at them both. Parker wilted a bit while Alec cringed. There is a beat of silence as the two exchange looks and communicate nonverbally. Sophie and Eliot simply wait for them to get their act together and tell them why they deserved to be grounded.

"We kinda took something from them…" Parker said, hiding behind Alec because now Sophie had turned on her. They both looked murderous.

"Well." Alec coughed, "I got an e-mail from a potential client, you guys were busy so Parker and I met her. We needed access to the mainframe and so I went in and planted a device and got some files. It's no big deal." Alec tried to sugar coat it.

"It is now, they probably found you on their video cameras, or did you erase those after you left?" Eliot snarled.

"Ahhh…" Parker and Alec looked at each other, and then back at Sophie and Eliot.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Sophie asked but she didn't need an answered. She face palmed while Parker and Alec made faces and Eliot tried not to break something.

"They found out, and now they sent someone to….what spy on us? Kill you?" Sophie muttered. She turned away and started pacing the office. She steepled her hands while she thought.

"It's not entirely ruined." She kept saying, trying to come up with a sort of plan. She wasn't the gifted Mastermind Nate is, but she'd come up with plans to steal various things for years. It wasn't like she didn't know what she is doing.

"We can't tell Nate," Parker said. "He'll get worried, he'll want to do something, and he can't."

Sophie turned, vexed, back to Parker; "Of course not!" she agreed. "He'd try to get out of bed and to do the con from a Wheelchair."

"We'll have to take care of it ourselves, no thanks to him!" Eliot pointed at Alec.

"Hey! I thought it'd be easy, just get the information of their scam and put it online; send some porn mags, I didn't think they were petty enough to send ex-whatever's after us!"

"Sssshhhhh!" Sophie waved her hands.

Above they could hear Nate's bed squeaking as he wiggled around.

"Fuck." Eliot cursed. He hurried up the stairs, two at a time to stop Nate from getting out of bed.

Sophie sighed. "This is going to be very fun."

And then she grabbed her purse and jacket and left. Parker and Alec looked around guiltily and then found useful things to do so as to try and stay on Eliot's good side.

_**0000**_

Nate wasn't sure who was yelling, but it sounded as if someone was going to get their ass beat by Eliot. Not the girls, of course, but Hardison sometimes didn't know when he probably shouldn't push Eliot's buttons and when Eliot was just playing around with him. Either way, the room was far too hot. The sheets were twisted about his legs and he needed to pee. Badly.

That is his motivation to get up, not to go see who was shouting or why. They probably forgot in the heat of the moment that he was upstairs sleeping. He couldn't blame them; really, it'd be stressful on anyone to have to be quiet all the time while someone was convalescing.

Nate kicked at the sheets; they landed on the end of the bed. He tried to sit up, but his head felt woozy and he had to lay back down because he didn't want to stumble into furniture on his way to the bath room.

It then that he hears heavy footsteps on the stairs and Eliot is at his side in seconds. Nate peers up at the younger man, Eliot runs a hand through his hair and grabs a hair band from the side table to pull his hair into a pony tail at the nape of his neck.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking for signs of blood or other things. Nate blinked for a moment while he registered the question.

"I just need to piss." Nate said after long last.

"Okay," Eliot nodded. It took them a few minutes to get Nate up and to the bathroom. He wobbled from the combined effects of his sickness and injured leg but they got there. Eliot left him alone with the door slightly closed so that Nate could have a bit of privacy. Eliot didn't want Nate to feel awkward because he was seeing him naked for medical reasons and Nate didn't want Eliot to feel awkward in helping him when it came to normal bodily functions.

Their combined feelings of trying not to be awkward made them both aware of the other even more and the awkwardness grew a bit, even though Eliot was on the other side of the door, watch Nate with the help of the mirror's reflection.

Nate tried to ignore Eliot's presence as he did his business. Using the counter as leverage. Then he washed his hands and Eliot helped him back to bed.

"That was an adventure." Nate muttered.

"Yeah, stay awake to eat something okay?" and then he was gone. Nate rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The medications were wearing off. The one Mimms had given him did help with the nausea. He wasn't throwing up or becoming as miserable with the pain meds now that he had the nausea medication. He also didn't feel like he had to sleep for a hundred years.

He sat up against the head bored and reached for the TV remote. Nate turned it to the History Channel and wondered what Eliot was going to make him.

_**0000**_

"It has to be done to night." Parker insisted.

"Woman, there's a bunch of security at night and we're three members down, remember it's just us." Alec gave Parker an incredulous stare. She returned it with an added pout and crossed arms over her chest.

"What are you two doing? I thought we told you not to take a job while Nate is down." Eliot glared as he went into the kitchen and started to pull out pots and dishes. He hadn't been able to make anything home made, but there were canned soups and for now those will have to do.

"We aren't." Parker and Alec said together, lied more like. Eliot rolled his eyes.

"Look, we've gotten out of the habit of doing things alone, you'll just gonna botch it up and get yourselves hurt and I won't be there to help you."

"We're not going to do anything stupid." Alec said with as much forced confidence as he could muster. "We're just gonna waltz in, and place some bugs and then waltz out."

"Bugs? Where?"

"The McCormick's office. They don't come in on Fridays so it'd be the best time," Alec replied.

"No, night is the best time. Their air ducts are awesome!" Parker insisted.

They launched into another argument and Eliot felt like kicking them both out of the apartment. Eliot put the soup on the stove to warm while he prepared a sandwich; he decided to go simple. Comfort food that everyone grew up with while sick is soup and peanut butt and jelly sandwich. Thanks to Hardison liking to be nosy, Eliot knew that Nate's mother used to make him tomato soup with a pg&j. Eliot frowned as he turned the other two out. He didn't have the best relationship with his own dad, but from what Nate said about his and how he acted the one time they had met him, it didn't seem like the man would do something like this for Nate as a kid.

Eliot didn't mind picking up the slack for their Mastermind when it came to things like this. Nate gave him something he hadn't known he needed and Eliot wasn't going to ruin it, or let other ruin it for him.

"How about you come?" Parker was at the bar watching him cook Nate's food. Eliot put a large gob of creamy peanut butter onto home made bread. Bread he'd been able to make a few days before Nate got shot.

"What? No!" Eliot glowered, "and you shouldn't go either."

"We have to find out what the McCormick's were doing sending two known assassins after us." Alec said from the couch. He guzzled down orange soda and Parker didn't even try to steal the finished sandwich when Eliot turned to the stove to stir the soup and add some salt and pepper to it.

"I can't leave Nate alone." Eliot replied.

"Nate will be fine, he sleeps like the dead when he has his pills." Alec reasons.

Eliot growled again but didn't go against that logic.

"And besides, we need you, it'll be for a couple of hours," Parker put in. She battered her eyes and tried to pout. Sophie was still helping her with those acting skills. Still, over the months she had gotten much better.

"All right, when?" Eliot replied. Seriously, he couldn't let the two youngest members go off and do something stupid. They'd die, or worse, get caught.

"Tonight."

That made Eliot stop, close his eyes, and count to ten. When he felt like he wouldn't hit something – mainly Hardison – he opened his mouth and said; "Tonight?"

"Yeah." Parker nodded.

Eliot couldn't help but feel this was the most stupidest thing they'd ever pulled him into.

"I'll call Sophie to get her to come back. Nate will have to know, just in case." Eliot replied. Parker and Alec just looked at each other before both started pouting and giving him puppy dog eyes.

"No way, he's sick. We shouldn't stress him out. Besides, all Parker is gonna do is go in and get the info off the computers." Alec explained.

"Didn't you do that all ready?" Eliot asked.

"Yeah, but the main boss lady's is on a different, internal, hard drive. It's not connected to the main Ethernet connection."

"How does that even…." Eliot sighed at himself for even starting to ask a stupid question.

"Look man, it just does."

"Anyway if she accidentally sets off an alarm we'll need you to make a distraction so she can get out. It's simple. Seriously. Ten minutes tops." Alec put the simulation on the wall of screens and Eliot watched it through once.

"And I have to place the bugs too." Parker reminded them both. It sounded easy in theory, but they all knew that this could go sideways easily if they were off their count.

He growled and poured the soup into a bowl and then put it on the big plate that held the sandwich. This he put on a tray with a napkin and silverware along with some water.

"Fine."

He took the tray upstairs to Nate and the other two got back to planning.

Against his better judgment; Eliot didn't inform Nate.

**_TBC_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Caring takes Courage (5/?)_**

**_Fandom – Leverage_**

**_Rating – pg13_**

**_Pairing – Gen_**

**_Warnings – typical violence_**

**_Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. _**

**_Summary – Nate hates getting shot, because then the rest of the team become protective and he can't get any peace._**

**_A/N - I don't want people to think that I have abandoned this fic. While I am making plans to concentrate on my original fiction, which I plan on self publishing, I will continue this fan fic. I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter. _**

**_000_**

**_Part 5_**

**_0000_**

"Nate is sleeping upstairs." Eliot said while Hardison and Parker packed up their gear. He and Sophie stood in the kitchen. The kettle was on and just warming up. Sophie had a tea bag waiting in the wings and big coffee mug. She was planning on staying the night so she wore pink flannel pj bottoms with a matching pink chemise and a large, baggy hoody to complete it and keep up some sort of modesty when in company.

Eliot and the others were dressed in black.

"We'll be fine, now when did you give Nate his meds? I don't want to mess it up." Sophie asked. Elliot told her and then continued on mumbling about Nate's progress. He'd developed a slight cough and Eliot had the cough syrup all ready on the bedside table with the rest of his meds for the next dose.

"How is his leg?"

"As far as I can tell it's clean, but it'll need to be re-bandaged soon." Eliot said.

Parker and Hardison made for the door; "come on!" Hardison urged. Sophie nodded at Eliot. She had it all handled from here.

He frowned; he told them this was a bad idea, but would anyone listen to him? He hurried out the door to catch up. Sophie latched and locked it behind them.

The Kettle began to whistle and she rushed back over to the kitchen. She made herself that cup of tea and then decided to settle in for the long haul. Nate had plenty of mystery novels around and she never had time to read much these days.

Sophie, with tea in hand, made for the bookshelves.

**0000**

The job went off without a hitch. Eliot still couldn't ignore that feeling which told him that things were going to get bad and soon. Parker and Hardison wouldn't understand. They were young and exuberant. They congratulated themselves over a job well done. But, Eliot just could shake off the feeling that told him a bomb was going to go off.

It had kept him alive during many mission, some legit and others not so much. But, in his training he was told to never ignore that feeling.

He jumped into the drivers seat and made for their offices. He had to make sure that Nate and Sophie were safe.

**000**

It was nine o'clock when someone knocked on the door. Sophie was half way through a Mary Higgins Clark Mystery when it happened.

The knock was only a second long and she put the book and tea down to see whom needed sugar at this hour of the night. Then the door was busted in the two Ex-Israeli Soldiers busted through. Sophie gave a scream as one man rushed towards her and the other towards the stairs.

She backed up and tried to make for where she knew Parker kept a spare Taser. But the Soldier got to her first. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to his chest. She struggled and kicked and yelled as loud as she could. The man though easily held her and covered her nose and mouth with a cloth.

A cloth that smelled like chloroform. No one used that bit anymore, not counting the time Parker did.

Sophie bit out a swear word before she lost consciousness.

The next thing she knew she was waking up to Parker softly calling her name. Hardison trying hard not to freak out too loudly and Eliot swearing a tornado into existence.

"What…..is Nate all right?" Sophie asked.

"Nate…" Parker pursed her lips, the said; "he's gone."

**0000**

Rebecca was glad that her sister had an aversion to the basement. In this case it would make a good prison for her temporary prisoner. She had a cell-like structure set up in the middle, all sorts of cameras were trained on it. Bars made up the walls. There was a toilet and sink along with a shower. It is a crude set up with the pipes running up one of the bars with a shower-head pointing straight down one corner of the cell. It was also pretty big.

She also went the extra mile and had a camping bed with sheets and blankets (the sort that can't be ripped) made up into a bed. Also the clothing was prison jump suit issue; except white with matching underwear and socks.

She wondered if she was obsessing over this too much; Nathan Ford had escaped a Prison after all and her basement was not Fort Knox. Sure she had a system in place. It was a vault with lasers and heat sensors and the whole nine yards when she or her henchmen weren't' present to keep their prisoner in check.

On the other hand, he did have a leg wound and he was sick; She had her own Doctor look at the wound when Ford had arrived. It was clean, the stitching good and her goons had even remembered to take the meds sitting on the night stand. She had a Nurse on hand to administer the stuff as well. She wasn't going to let his health deteriorate. That'd defeat the purpose of him being here.

But what is his purpose? Rebecca had turned the question in her head for days and days. Unable to decide why she needed him alive. Of course she is playing with fire. His team will search for him; come hell or high water they won't let anyone hurt him or take him away from them. They will be angry, they will want revenge.

People who thought when they were angry were easy to take down. And each of them had to meet with an accident soon or her whole game will be over before she could put Nathan Ford into it.

Her sister, also, had to be dealt with. Rebecca took a seat at the panel; which controlled the cage. Ford was sleeping. The Nurse had undressed him, bathed him, changed the bandages…woke him long enough for the new dosage of medication. And now he slept, somewhat peacefully, in the bed. The lights were on low and Rebecca decided to take the time to think over her plots.

Nothing could go wrong. Her whole life is riding on it going smoothly.

**0000**

Nate woke with a pounding headache, and he was cold to the bone. It felt as if he'd been put into an ice bath again. His teeth were chattering like crazy. His leg hurt and beat along with his heart. Which meant that he is due for more meds when Eliot brought his meal.

It's then that he noticed it. The smell is different. His room smells like a combination of things. Good things. Sophie's perfume, Eliot's musk, sometimes his own vomit…which had been far more recent since he has gotten sick. But, wherever he was smelled more like bleach. He opened his eyes slightly. The ceiling was not his. It was made out of bars and beyond that is cinderblock. He blinks a few times, trying to suss out the reason for this. Then he hears a slight coughing, to clear the throat or gain his attention quietly he can't decide.

He slowly moves his head towards the sound. It then that he realizes that he's in a cage of sorts and whoever is holding him is standing beyond it.

"Hello, how are you feeling?" the woman asked. She is dressed in a red suite; her light blondish-red hair his in a bun and she wears glasses to hide bright, green eyes. She is slim and wears four-inch high heels. Sophie would think they were ugly. But she isn't there to say s.

"What…do you need me for?" is the first question Nate can come up with.

"I hear you're good at running games on other people." The woman replies. Nate stares at her. He can't decide if she's particularly clever, or really insane.

"You're Rebecca McCormick aren't you?" he groans. He tries to sit up but his head swims and his vision blurs.

"Don't try to move. I think you need to stay still." Rebecca replies, she moves closer but doesn't undo whatever lock – its hidden – to come to his aid. She stands outside the bars and watches him collapse back into bed.

"I need you for something," she says.

"You really are going to regret this." Nate mutters, far too tired to even care what she wanted of him.

"Don't worry, when you're feeling better we'll talk." She smiles. "Oh, and I will take good care of your team as well." She smirked at him and Nate watches her turn away and walked out of the basement. There's a heavy, steel door that looks to be about ten inches thick from where he lies. It closes, and locks. Then there is a humming sound and he can see bright blue lasers shoot from the walls. It changes every second in a random pattern.

No one but Parker can traverse it.

Nate sighs and scrubs his hands over his face. He's far too tired for this shit.

**0000**

Alec had their own video feed up on the monitors when Parker arrives, fresh from a shower. She's wearing some of Nate's clothes. They all get protective of each other in their own ways. Parker more so because she hates when people steal things from her that she's all ready stolen and believes belongs to her.

Nate –and the rest of them – belongs to her. She stole them fair and square, as she admitted to him when they first had sex. And Alec agrees with her. They didn't fall apart with out Nate, but they knew that something was missing and it was his presence.

They'd done this before, when they first split up after Dubenich was finally taken down; it took them six months to realize they needed each other. And it didn't take much to push Nate to where they wanted him to be. Well, mostly. He still bitched about it every once in a while. But they mostly just ignored that.

Alec, for his part, wished that Nate had an earpiece so they could communicate. It wasn't like that time when he was in that private prison facility. This time they didn't know where he was and so he really had to look at all the footage all over the city to get a read on the Goon's van. He knew that when he found the van; he most likely found whoever had hurt Sophie and kidnapped Nate.

"It's not cool." Parker muttered, her wet hair is up in a clip she probably picked up with a five-dollar discount at some store or other when Sophie wasn't looking. And she smelled like Nate.

Alec much rather liked it when she smelled like Calgon's Hawaiian Ginger but he wasn't about to complain about it. He turned and gave her a look. She had an elbow propped on the desk, and her chin in the palm of her hand looking despondent.

Eliot and Sophie were in the kitchen behind them. Eliot making sure Sophie wasn't hurt beyond being knocked out by Chloroform; she seemed all right but he held her and she hugged him around the middle.

"No," Alec agreed, "but we'll get him back." He promised. Alec put the key board down and circled the desk so he could hug Parker to him. She usually wasn't one for touchy feely stuff like this, but sometimes, everyone needed a hug and this is one of those times for her.

"He'll be all right until we get to him, I know he will be." Alec whispered into her ear.

Behind them, they very faintly heard Sophie sobbing into Eliot's shirt while he tried to comfort her.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Caring takes Courage (6/?)**_

_**Fandom – Leverage**_

_**Rating – pg13**_

_**Pairing – Gen**_

_**Warnings – typical violence**_

_**Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. **_

_**Summary – Nate hates getting shot, because then the rest of the team become protective and he can't get any peace.**_

_**A/N - Okay, due to my internet being disconnected for an amount of time I do not know updates may not come as fast as they were. However. I do plan on writing a couple chapters at a time so that I can update more than once. Sadly this shall not happen this time but I hope ya'll enjoy chapter 6. Also, Mandy is another OC because I couldn't remember the one hitter lady from the Two Live Crew Job. Sorry. Also, I like Quinn. And if it looks like I don't know what I am doing...ah...I'm working on it. ;) **_

_**0000**_

_**Chapter 6 **_

_**0000**_

None of them went home; they all slept at Nate's place; no matter how much they teased him about it, they'd only made it their "offices" to make sure he didn't run out on them when they weren't looking. Nate is one slippery fish to pin down; hopefully that talent will come in handy in the following days.

There hadn't been a phone for a ransom, yet. And Eliot sat by the landline and they all had their cell phones charged, just in case. Nate's lay where it had from the beginning of this whole thing, in a tray meant for fruit on the coffee table, along with his keys.

Sophie walked down the stairs with the sheets. She didn't want anyone to catch whatever Nate had, it probably wasn't contagious though, coming on as a symptom of his leg wound. Still, she wasn't going to risk the rest of the team's health. She held the sheets away from her and made for the closet beside the kitchen. The washing machine stood ready for her and she stuffed them in, she put the water to extra hot. It was best to kill all the germs.

She'd all ready done the blankets and they were folded and awaiting the sheets upstairs.

She turned to find Parker eating all of the sweets she could fine. She had messed up the kitchen a bit but Sophie couldn't find it within herself to worry. She tapped Parker on the left shoulder, Parker turned her head which gave Sophie her moment to steal a cookie.

Parker semi-glared and said; "Hey! My cookie!" but it wasn't very serious and she let Sophie go without trying to pick pocket her. Sophie gave Parker a smile. Then she made her way back upstairs. She had the bathroom to clean next.

She was going to make sure everything was read for when they got Nate back; she and Eliot will tuck him into bed and Eliot will put better locks on the door. And Hardison will make sure those locks can't be hacked. They'll do the same to the windows, no one but them will be able to get in from now on.

She left them all to their own thoughts. Hardison was fiddling with his tech, Parker chowing down and Eliot waiting. Eliot had his eyes closed and he is doing breathing exercises. Breathing in, slowly, exhaling even more slowly. Eyes closed, his face is like stone. Nothing shows and both Parker and Hardison knows that Eliot is very angry.

At them, with them? It's a guessing game but he hasn't out right accused them of letting this happen. They couldn't really blame anyone. Sophie couldn't fight off two strong men and prevent Nate's kidnapping. Eliot could have let Parker and Hardison go alone.

Nate would be forgiving, he might complain about it, but he wouldn't be mad at them. They did their best not to bother him, they didn't want to get yelled at. They both felt guilty. If they hadn't insisted on the job and Eliot going with them…

"Stop…" Eliot muttered.

Parker and Hardison glanced at each other, they hadn't spoken a word; and yet Eliot knew exactly what they were thinking. It was a bit silly, none of them meant to put Sophie or Nate in harms way by leaving. They were going to get him back. They were also going to rain down fire from the Heavens for this.

"We're sorry." Parker said from the kitchen. Hardison just didn't say anything.

"It's fine, it's going to be. We'll get Nate back." Eliot replied, his voice was gruff but choked up a bit. He missed Nate dearly. It was almost like those six months before they sought Nate out and found out he was living in Boston. Except this time he had the others and it wasn't so lonely.

The phone gave off a shrill ring before Eliot could go into those memories. He held up a finger to both Hardison and Parker. Sophie came racing down the stairs.

They all piled onto the couch and watched as Eliot picked up the phone. "Yeah?" he said, calmly; not letting an ounce of anger or rage be known through his tone of voice.

"_If you ever want to see your Mastermind again you'll do exactly what I say._" The voice on the other end of the phone is a woman's. The background behind her is quiet. She has a posh accent as well. Her sentence is as correct as someone who went through school for many years.

"I want proof of life." Eliot demanded.

"_It's coming now…"_ the woman said.

At a wave of the hand from Eliot Hardison was on the key board, he checked all of their e-mail and found one that had a link to a secure live stream. He clicked the link, being careful not to give the bad guys a back door into his own system. They saw Nate and the time stamp.

"_The location is very secure, I've made sure of that. If you don't want me to saw off pieces and send them to you you'll do what I say when I say. Keep your cell phones charged and on."_ and then she hung up.

"What the bugger did she say?" Sophie demanded.

"We're to do what she says," Eliot replied.

"What do you think of it Parker?" Hardison asked.

"A Eon 450 is Russian; they use it for their top secret prisoners. I've heard there are some in the basement of the Kremlin even. It'll be hard." Parker whistled, truly impressed.

"What's the time stamp on that? Are they pulling our leg?" Eliot asked.

Hardison tapped at some keys. "As far as I can tell it's real. We have it for an hour. But I've sent a worm in through the link and I'll be able to access it without them knowing any time we want. I can't get to anything on the wifi network though. It's pretty solid."

"But given the time you can," Parker said.

"Yeah," Hardison shrugged.

"Get on that, I'm gonna go see some buddies," Eliot said. He grabbed his coat and cell phone. The door slammed behind him.

"Sophie?" Parker turned to the older woman who was re-doing her make up. She'd since changed and looked as put together as ever.

"I'm going to go see some of my people as well."

The thing about the Criminal underground is that people usually knew each other's business if there was a reason for it. They'd kept tabs on Nathan Ford for business reasons and he'd chased more people than just the one's that comprised his team at the moment. The Naked Lady is a neutral place and the rules are very clear. No one messes with anyone else, no cons or fights or anything. Eliot doubted that Hardison or Parker knew about this place. It's mostly full of Hitters tonight. Which is good.

The Naked Lady is awash in the news of Nate's kidnapping and Eliot was given their condolences about it; some said they probably would have done the same thing anyway and not to beat himself up over it.

Quinn surprised Eliot at the bar with a strong clap to the shoulder. "Hey!"

"Hi."

"You all right?"

"Going to be."

"Come sit with Mandy and I." Quinn said. He got three large beers and then led Eliot to a table where he handed each of his guests a glass.

Mandy is slightly on the short side, but she has muscles and her dark blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail; Her make up is simple as are her clothing.

"We heard about what happened." She said after introductions were made; "You come to get help?" she asked. She and Quinn didn't usually do teams. There was that one time with the Dam for Quinn but Mandy was a Lone Wolf; like Eliot used to be. And from her accent, Eliot placed her somewhere near California.

"Maybe," he muttered.

"They got you by the balls then." Mandy nodded. She sipped her beer and Quinn gave her the stink eye for that comment.

"We have proof of life, but we have to do what Rebecca McCormick says," Eliot explained.

"McCormick, you said?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, Hardison started it by sneaking into their building while I was busy with Nate…" Eliot rolled his eyes as Quinn and Mandy gave each other a knowing glance "Not like that, he got hurt on a job. Okay? I and Sophie took over taking care of him."

"And the other two just got bored then, it happens. It's still not your fault." Mandy shrugged.

"I know that."

"We've all been there one time or another," Quinn said. "Your reputation isn't ruined."

"Thanks, but I'd feel better after getting Nate back." Eliot sighed. They all sat quietly drinking their beer. Eliot is glad that, even though he's still getting looks; however, no one approaches him to talk.

"So, you were saying about McCormick?" Mandy nudged.

"They probably felt threatened when they found Hardison out. We knew the apartment was being watched, but we took care of that, well…" Eliot shrugged.

"Hmmm…." Mandy hummed.

"It's a good plan until you guys figure out a way around it." Quinn said thoughtfully.

"Where are they keeping him?" Mandy asked.

"I don't know, all I know is that it's an Eon 450."

"I've been in one of those, it's complete bullshit to try and get out from the inside." Mandy whistled, impressed. Quinn had to agree.

"Hey! I haven't been able to break into one of those in forever, let us help you guys out!" Mandy slapped the table. Eliot blinked at her and Quinn nodded.

"Yeah,"

"I didn't come here to ask for help," Eliot replied.

"I'm bored, I don't even need to be paid and I know Quinn is just as bored…come on?" Mandy wheedled.

"I still owe you a favor." Eliot turned his hardened glare onto Quinn who was not phased by it.

"You'll just owe me another one, pal." Quinn quipped.

"Settled?" Mandy asked. Eliot sighed, but knowing that it'd be nice to have some back up did make him feel a bit better about the whole thing.

He nodded; "Okay."

Archie sat at his kitchen table sipping tea with milk and sugar while reading the newspaper; he kept looking at the phone, wondering if he should call Parker and offer his services. She'd probably take him up on it but he never was one to save her when he knew she could handle it. Still…they probably needed some sort of Mastermind.

It is his doorbell that rings, not his phone, and that's surprising. He goes to answer it. He's saying "Parker…" before he even see's who is standing there.

"I'm sorry, I should have called first." Sophie replied.

"Are you lot all right?" Archie asked.

"We're fine, it's Nate we're worried about." Sophie replied. Archie invited her in and led her back to the kitchen where she took a chair and he made a second cup of tea.

"I thought Parker would come to me." Archie said as he sat down across from Sophie.

"You're a sudden inspiration," she admits, "I was looking into the McCormick's when one of my contacts mentioned employing another Mastermind to help us get our hands on Nate. So, the only one I thought of off the top of my head is you." She explained.

"Where is he anyway?" Archie asked.

"Nate is being held prisoner, and we're being held between a rock and a hard place." Sophie replied, "Whoever has him wants us to do their bidding; or Nate will be returned to worse off than he was when he was kidnapped."

"He was hurt before?"

"Shot in the leg and he developed a fever and it's going to get worse if they don't take care of him." Sophie frowned down at her tea.

Archie watched her for a few seconds before making up his mind; "I've nothing planned for the next few days, I'll gladly take this mission on." he grinned at her, Sophie gave him a half hearted smile back but he couldn't blame her for it.

"What did you guys do?" Hardison asked. The lady Hitter just waved at him as she and Quinn hung up their coats. Archie followed next with Sophie and Parker ran to hug him. They went off to the kitchen gibbering at each other excitedly.

"They offered," Eliot muttered.

"I asked," Sophie shrugged off her own coat and hung it up.

"No way in hell am I asking Chaos to join." Hardison frowned.

"Fine, whatever, now tell us what the fuck those bastards were doing in the first place." Eliot rolled his eyes. The rest gathered at the desk and on the couch for the debriefing. All eyes are on Hardison. He sighed and began to talk.

_**TBC**_


	7. Chapter 7

p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 18.0pt; font-family: 'American Typewriter';"Caring takes Courage (7/?)/span/em/strong/p 


	8. Chapter 8

**_Caring takes Courage (8/10)_**

**_Fandom – Leverage_**

**_Rating – pg13_**

**_Pairing – Gen_**

**_Warnings – typical violence_**

**_Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. _**

**_Summary – Nate has been kidnapped while injured and sick; the team requires the help of others to help them steal Nate back. _**

******_A/N - In a haze last night I finished this story. lol. I usually take FOREVER to finish one but it happened and I am glad. I hope it makes sense. I was not able to do any of those flash back things but this wasn't the sort of story where those could easily be done. In fact I don't know how to do that part well but in my next Leverage fic (yes, I started it last night) I will try to do that. Anyway, enjoy. _**

**_0000_**

**_Chapter 8_**

**_0000_**

The thing that woke him is the sudden silence. Then the clank of a lock and the solid door being pulled open; he expected Rebecca to come and gloat at him some more; instead it's a large, hulking man with a tray. Nate watches him and does not move. The man doesn't seem to think he's awake. He moves as if he doesn't have a care in the world. He's bald and wears shades even though the room isn't bright.

Nate squints his eyes a bit to make it look like he is still sleeping. The man balances the tray and finds the locking mechanism. All he has to do is slide his id badge and it opens. _All right, simple enough, _Nate thinks. The tray is deposited on the floor and the cage door shut. It locks again and the man walks back to the door.

Nate waits until the door is locked and the lasers come back to life to hum about on the floor. He finds that he is hungry and doesn't much care if they drugged it or not.

He finds medication in a small, paper cup on the tray along with chicken noodle soup, some crackers and water. He takes those first before he starts eating. He can't remember the last time he ate, and after he finishes the cage goes all wonky around him and he knows he's been given something to make him less trouble.

It's hard for him to arrange him self on the bed; soon enough though he is sound asleep. The lasers are turned off again and the same man retrieves the tray. He leaves and the lasers are turned back on.

The guards are sure that their prisoner will be asleep for hours. It's best to keep him drugged because Nathan Ford in any state of mind is dangerous and they can't risk him escaping.

**0000**

Parker was bored out of her mind and making trouble; so she was sent to Benjamin's old apartment to get the evidence he had against the McCormick sisters. She found it and now she sat in the living room with Hardison looking it over. It's nearly six in the morning and the others are just waking up. Neither she nor Hardison got any sleep; it was catching up to her and so she curled up on the couch dozing.

Sophie tried to be quiet as she made coffee, Eliot didn't even try as he made them all a big breakfast. It's a new day and tonight Quinn, Archie and Mandy were to go into the McCormick's building to find their Mastermind.

It feels as if they are on the edge of a precipice; the air is charged with excitement, and worry. The girls set the table while the men get things done in the kitchen in a reversal of the previous night.

Archie is happy and chatters on, Eliot and Quinn listen to the older man out of deference. Parker wakes and helps Sophie. Mandy tugs gently on the girls blond braid and giggles. Parker trips and they can't help but tease her a little bit. Coffee helps her wake up but also gives her a buzz that makes her hyper.

Either way the team feels better because now they are doing something to get Nate back and that's all right.

**0000**

Rebecca's office is sparse compared to the overly elegantly decorated office of her sister who worked fifty floors above Rebecca. It is always a hassle to get up to that office. Rebecca also likes colour. She had her office painted cobalt blue with dark wood.

The windows look out over the Boston skyline and in the distance she can see the bay. Every year there is a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party before the Fourth of July celebration.

It's something to see, as well, and definitely a tourist trap if she ever saw one. Still, it is fun and even the locals enjoy it. Other than that, there is nothing much to say about her office.

She smiles down at her phone; the one man in the world who could finger them for fraud is dead and they're mostly in the clear. Now all she had to do is kill Nathan Ford's team and then use him for her next big Con.

She'd like to do something that did not involve selling companies and building them up from the bottom up. She's tired of the work and wants to do something different and far more interesting.

Only, she has to talk him around to it, and without the Team she probably didn't have much leverage. She steepled her fingers and watched the camera feed. He'd only gotten out of the bed twice, once to wash his face and a second to eat. He'd been asleep now for five hours. He'll be out for around ten.

She dialed Spencer's number; it's time to run Ford's precious little team about Boston some more. Eventually they'll be so confused that they won't know what hit them until they're six feet underground.

**0000**

Eliot and Quinn were toe-to-toe, dodging blows and throwing punches. Each man wore protection for their ring bout; they didn't want to actually damage the other, this is just a friendly, little boxing match. At the other side of the gym Mandy is sparing with Parker and giving her tips. Archie and Sophie decided to sip wine on the other side of the partition wall.

Eliot's phone rang, it sat on the table and Sophie reached over to get it. "Hello?"

There is silence for a second before the voice speaks.

_"__Hanson avenue, Jensen's Cheese Shop. Ten. Tonight._" Then the line went dead.

**0000**

Mandy showed up this time; after missing out on all the action she wanted to be on one of these little goose chases their black mailer happened to be so keen on. She swept her hair into a ponytail and twisted the end about her fingers.

"Anyone interesting?" Quinn asked. They'd gotten their own ear buds from the team and Mandy had to admit it was pretty neat.

"There's a dude in a black van," she replied. Ever since she was a little girl her mother always told her to stay away from such vans. Black or White. Two passenger doors at the front, a large one for loading and unloading things into and out of it; it also happens to be a good van for kidnappers. It's the only thing she'll actually stay away from. Anything else, bombs, a fire fight…whatever, she loved to be in the middle of those sorts of situations.

Funny thing about this; one time for a job, Mandy was in an Afghanistan prison fro five months before she was able to retrieve the information her bosses were paying nearly a fortune for. In the end it wasn't worth it but she got paid and that's all that matters. Now days she's doubly cautious of odd looking vans.

"What's he doing?" Eliot asked.

"Smoking, he'll be easy to out run. Long time smokers have a hard time doing that." Mandy replied.

Eliot's phone rang again. This time he answered but didn't say anything.

"_Go to the van, take what the man hands you. Then dump it into the nearest postal box." _Eliot hangs up. The directions are very clear.

"Did you get that?" he asks Mandy who's all ready walking towards the van. Which she'd just spend seconds before telling herself she wasn't going to approach.

Despite her nervousness she knew she could take whoever is in the van waiting for her and if she needed backup Quinn and Eliot will be there in seconds. Not that she needed two strong, manly men to rescue her. But, sometimes the thought is nice.

Mandy gave the van driver a second to step out; she didn't recognize him, he had to be a local goon. Neither his clothing, hair cut or speech pattern indicated that he had formal training from say….the FBI, CIA, NSA or any other lame acronym for a government agency.

She punched him out before he could say anything. The package dropped from his outstretched hand. He is out cold. She gets into the van long enough to see if anyone else is inside. Thankfully, the van driver is alone.

Then she picks up the package.

"Lets hurry guys."

**0000**

Their small x-ray machine took up the back of a whole van, Hardison ran it through quickly, saving all the data to his hard drive.

"What is it?" Eliot asked.

"Hmmmm…." Hardison hummed as he looked at the specks.

"It's a hard drive." He muttered.

"Who mails a hard drive?" Quinn asked, perplexed.

"Someone stupid. Give it to me. I'll download it and put a virus in it. When it's hooked into a computer I'll get an alert and then I can use it as my back door into their system. This is actually pretty cool." Hardison said as he carefully opened the packed. He'll have to re-package it just right so no one would get curious.

"Good, I hate these errands," Eliot growled.

"Well, don't get too excited, she's obviously trying to keep us from trying for the real thing."

"And we're late to do the building layout." Mandy said as she looked at her wristwatch.

**0000**

Over at the McCormick building, Archie stood at a solid iron door. It is open. Inside stands a cage with amenities like running water, a toilet, a sing and a freestanding shower. The cage door is open and it's empty.

"No need," Archie said. Then he turned and went up the corridor he'd snuck into, twirling his walking stick as he went.

**_TBC_**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Caring takes Courage (9/10)**_

_**Fandom – Leverage**_

_**Rating – pg13**_

_**Pairing – Gen**_

_**Warnings – typical violence**_

_**Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. **_

_**Summary – Nate has been kidnapped while injured and sick; the team requires the help of others to help them steal Nate back. **_

_**A/N – All I have to say is that this is fast. I thought it'd take another couple weeks to finish this story. But I was on a roll. The Pacing probably sucks and it probably ends too fast but for right now I am happy with it. Also, I am sorry for the lack of reveals. Nothing seemed to come together that way so I didn't bother. Also, chapter 10 turned out to be the Epilogue but it works out evenly enough I guess. I thank everyone who's reviewed this story and has stuck with me. I hope ya'll have enjoyed taking the ride with me. Also, this story is totally a pre-slash for Eliot/Nate. I toyed with it being Eliot/Nate the entire time, but Sophie got in there and I had to do something with her. But in the end, it just seemed like I focused a lot on Eliot/Nate and I figure that if I ever do another story they'd be the main pairing. And this A/N is long enough. Love ya'll, Asher.**_

_**0000**_

_**Chapter 9**_

_**0000**_

"Did they see us coming?" Eliot growled as he, Quinn, Mandy and Archie hustled into the Team's office/Nate's home.

"Naaaaaw man!" Hardison put the life feed on. Nate is sleeping soundly in the bed. A tray of food had been left with his medication that'd also been taken when he had, but he hadn't moved towards it.

"I'm worried," Sophie wrung her hands, "he hasn't even moved."

"He's out cold." Mandy pointed out, "If he's as sick and injured as you say he is, he wouldn't sleep like that, he'd be moving around. Or, at least I think he would be. I always am if I am sick. I think they drugged him." She waved a hand at the monitor feed.

Eliot paced back and forth in front of the monitors. Archie poured a few glasses of wine, he handed one to Sophie and one to Mandy. Quinn got two beers and an orange soda from the fridge. He tossed the soda at Hardison and then one to Eliot on one of his passes.

"The room I found must be a second location. Just in case they had to move him." Archie motioned at the monitor. "It's exactly the same. The only thing they don't show is the door. Of course, they don't want to give you the entire lay out."

"So he must be at the mansion. Who'd put that thing in an abandoned building?" Hardison asked. He tapped at his keyboard; the mansion plans popped up.

"That basement is huge," Mandy had her head propped on her hand.

"That's where they're keeping him." Eliot pointed.

"All right," Archie nodded, "There is only one thing to do now."

"What?" Parker asked.

"Messrs.' Spencer and Quinn, Miss Mandy" he angled his head in their direction, "Would you mind retrieving the Leverage Incorporated's Mastermind?" he raised an eyebrow at them.

"Yeah," Eliot popped his knuckles. "I'm ready to hit someone."

**0000**

His head swam when he finally came around enough to be able to think. Nate moaned; the aftermath of being drugged into complacency always pissed him off. Thankfully it didn't happen all that often, but still, it's the principle of the thing.

He came too, however, in the trunk of a car. His wrists are handcuffed behind him. He's gagged and his ankles are also cuffed. He's being moved, but why? He can't figure it out. His head is pounding. Hopefully the next place will be something he'd be able to con his way out of. It's going to suck, but that can't be helped.

He closes his eyes and groans. He really hates being kidnapped. He hopes Eliot will come for him soon.

**0000**

Macy glared at her sister who drove the car; she didn't know why her sister insisted on a drive out into the country at midnight. She crossed her arms glared at Rebecca. The other problem just so happens to be the man in the trunk. Rebecca had gone Dark Side and she wasn't sure she would be able to get her to see reason.

Finally the car came to a stop at an overlook; Macey jumps out with Rebecca right behind her. The night is cool, the sky above them is starlit and devoid a moon. It's dark and she really doesn't like the surroundings. They are alone. Anything can happen.

"What the ever loving fuck are you doing kidnapping him?" Macey demanded.

"He's part of my plans," Rebecca replied.

"Plans? I come up with the plans!" she flailed,

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Macey ground her teeth. Rebecca crossed her arms and glared, not that Macey could see very well in the dark. They stood off to the side so the cars front lights didn't help much at all.

"I for one am tired of your temper tantrums," Rebecca said, she reached behind her and under her jacket; seconds later she pulled out a pistol.

"Rebecca? What are you doing…?"

Two shots rang out into the night, the sound of a body flopping to the ground made Nate jump practically out of his skin. He hit his head on the trunk and lay there stunned.

Someone had just been killed. He was certain of it, because there weren't screams that indicated that someone had been injured. And bullet wounds sucked hard core. Only one set of footsteps made its way back to the car. Not hurriedly at all either. Nate knew that only one sister had survived this encounter. And he's pretty sure it's Rebecca McCormick, who's been his captor since the beginning.

He started to put a con together. He'd have to pull it off on his own and then contact the team afterwards. They'd at least be happy to know he's alive. He had to put Rebecca into a place where she felt as if she is in a position of power over him. That shouldn't be too hard. He felt worse than he had when he'd first been taken and he wondered how many days it's been since he'd seen anyone of his team.

He closed his eyes again and turned his thoughts towards a con he could pull of on his lonesome.

**0000**

"Four days." Parker muttered. The live feed had gone off three hours ago. It took Hardison a while to get it back, and when he did, Nate was gone. He was no longer at the Mansion and so there was no need to sneak in there.

"What?" Hardison asked, looking up from his work.

"It's been four days since Nate got taken." She sighed.

"He's fine," Hardison said lightly, trying to keep the mood light. He didn't want to think about all the ways they could find Nate. Dead. Under a bridge after having his neck snapped is the first one Hardison thought of off the top of his head. The second is a suicide cover up where Nate "hung" himself. But not really, and the third is the same but in the bathtub with his wrists cut. Basically, it all played on his alcohol and depression problem(s).

"Do you think he'll be able to talk himself out of this one?" Parker asked.

"What? Like that time he talked to guys into unconsciousness?" Hardison asked.

"I thought he fought them." Parker twitched her nose at Hardison.

"Ummm…." The details of the Fiddle Job were a bit hazy but Hardison was pretty sure Nate had talked them around to fighting each other. Goons. It's sad but they really didn't have a good IQ between two, much less a group.

He shrugged, not willing to fight with Parker about the details right now; "Okay, of course he can talk his way out. All he has to do is find Rebecca's buttons and push them."

Parker nodded; "It's just, after twenty four hours, finding anyone alive is almost nil."

"Don't worry, Nate won't die on us, we won't let him." Hardison took Parker's hand and pulled her into a hug, she wrapped her arms around his middle. She fit perfectly within his arms and he was able to rest his chin on her head.

Nate will be okay. He repeated to himself. Because there wasn't another choice for them; or Nate. They weren't going to give him up, or any other member of their family. That's how it worked. That's what being a family meant.

**0000**

Eliot is not a happy camper, nor are Mandy or Quinn who had wanted to punch out some bad guys themselves. They sat on the couch nursing bears and glaring at nothing in particular. They ignored the Hardison/Parker moment and mostly cursed soundlessly.

Then an alarm sounded from Hardison's computer and they all looked over at the monitor as something, with a good photo of Nate they had taken for a fake book for a job once, popped up. With a message.

"What the ever loving fuck?" Eliot surged to his feet.

"Whaaa…?" Hardison tapped at keys quickly.

"She's selling him." Mandy said, now standing next to Eliot. "To the Russians…"

"This is bad," Quinn whistled.

"Find out where that came from, we have to get him back tonight!" Eliot ordered Hardison, who is too worried to glare or fight Eliot about it.

"I got the address."

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Caring takes Courage (10 of 10)**_

_**Fandom – Leverage**_

_**Rating – pg13**_

_**Pairing – Gen**_

_**Warnings – typical violence**_

_**Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. **_

_**Summary – Nate has been kidnapped while injured and sick; the team requires the help of others to help them steal Nate back. **_

_**A/N – All I have to say is that this is fast. I thought it'd take another couple weeks to finish this story. But I was on a roll. The Pacing probably sucks and it probably ends too fast but for right now I am happy with it. Also, I am sorry for the lack of reveals. Nothing seemed to come together that way so I didn't bother. Also, chapter 10 turned out to be the Epilogue but it works out evenly enough I guess. I thank everyone who's reviewed this story and has stuck with me. I hope ya'll have enjoyed taking the ride with me. Also, this story is totally a pre-slash for Eliot/Nate. I toyed with it being Eliot/Nate the entire time, but Sophie got in there and I had to do something with her. But in the end, it just seemed like I focused a lot on Eliot/Nate and I figure that if I ever do another story they'd be the main pairing. And this A/N is long enough. Love ya'll, Asher.**_

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**Chapter 10**

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His leg hurt like hell. Walking on it is not a good idea but he really didn't have a choice. It needed to be seen too, it felt as if the stitches had come loose and the bandages felt wrong. Nate really wished he could have had a peaceful rest to be able to heal. Even if he'd been annoyed at the time with his team being mother hens, he would have traded for that early situation instead for the one he is in now.

"All right, time to finish this." Rebecca muttered. Nate watched her carefully, but she didn't pull the gun. Instead she pulled out her phone.

"What do you think people would pay for you?" she asked. "Ten million or twenty?"

Nate muttered something but the words didn't form thanks to the gag in his mouth.

"Forty? All right, that sounds good." She grinned.

Nate rolled his eyes. Of course there were plenty of people with money who'd buy him just for the chance to kill him. He can only hope that his team is alerted to it. They all have contacts one way or another and somehow they all get pertinent information. Even so, this is one horrible place to be.

Nate took a look around as Rebecca turned away from him tapping on her phone. The shack can't even be called a shack.

There are boards missing, half the roof collapsed into the one, main room, and it was drafty. He's mostly dressed in sweats; his slippers had been grabbed but he's without a hoodie or coat and he's cold.

His chest rattles and forces him to couch. He doubles over and coughs for what seems like ages. When he's done he's trying to gasp air through his nose and he really wished he wasn't gagged.

It makes it hard to breath, thanks to a stuffed up nose. Somehow he's able too, but he'd much rather have his mouth free.

Nate really wished to be in bed. Anywhere.

"All right, it's all set up, in a few minutes we'll find out who the highest bidder is." Rebecca twirled to face him. He glanced up at her. His eyes are blood shot and he really wishes for his team right about then, or an ear bud. Anyone telling him things are in their control, and not to worry, right about now would bolster his confidence.

"I was going to use you to make the business better, but then I decided that I'd be far better off selling you to the highest bidder." Rebecca monologue. Nate blinked at her. He didn't even have to get her to talk, nice.

"And don't worry about your team. I have something special planned for them." She laughed.

There was a knocking on the door; Rebecca blinked. This is odd. She turned and went to see who it was. There was a woman on the door step, grinning widely.

"Hello, we're here for Mr. Ford," she said, "is he around?"

"What?" Rebecca asked but is not able to say anything else before the woman cold cocks her. She falls backwards. Nate watches from the chair. Then the woman stands aside and Eliot rushes in.

"Nate!" he's quick to get Nate free of the gag and cuffs.

"You let her punch McCormick?" Nate asked. Wheezing a bit as he did so; Eliot helped him to stand.

"We thought it was less sexist if she did it." Eliot replied, his voice some what soft because Nate isn't fighting him. He hisses as he tries to put weight on his leg. Nate curses.

"Let's get you to the van. I'll look your leg over and see if we have to take you to the hospital." Eliot nodded at Quinn who came over to help. Between the two of them they were able to get Nate to the van. Then they retrieved the unconscious McCormick.

Mandy drove. And Nate relaxed.

**TBC**


	11. Epilogue

_**Caring takes Courage (Epilogue)**_

_**Fandom – Leverage**_

_**Rating – pg13**_

_**Pairing – Gen**_

_**Warnings – typical violence**_

_**Disclaimer – I do not own anything but the copy right to this story. **_

_**Summary – Nate has been kidnapped while injured and sick; the team requires the help of others to help them steal Nate back. **_

_**A/N – So here it is, the end of the story. :) I am so glad I got this finished. Usually it takes me forever. I have also started a 'sequel' to this which may be longer. it really just depends. I don't know when I'll upload it. I haven't even gotten the first chapter finished. Sorry. I do plan on working on my Star Wars and POTC fix's as well so if you're into those fandoms and want something else to read there are those. Anyway, thanks for sticking through tis with me. :) **_

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**Epilogue**

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"Rebecca McCormick was found duck taped to the doors of the police station. On her was a hard drive that held evidence of the company she and her dead sister founded a year ago. Macey McCormick was found an hour later, dead. Rebecca McCormick is being charged with Tax evasion and the murder of her sister…."

Eliot sighed. Revenge is sweet.

Beside him on the bed Nate dozes. His leg is slightly elevated. The bandages are clean but Eliot did have to re-stitch the wounds. Thankfully he'd caught the beginnings of the infection, no thanks to the McCormick not taking care of Nate properly, and Nate is happy to be home. He's even kindly letting them take care of him, though Eliot suspects he's just too tired to fight them about it.

Down stairs he can hear Mandy, Archie and Quinn with the rest making dinner and setting the table. Nate is asleep enough that Eliot knows he can go down and join them in a few seconds.

A celebration is in order. They have their mastermind back, better locks on the door and even a new security system that Hardison designed himself. They won't have to worry about someone taking anyone of their team again.

Eliot turns sideways to look at Nate. The cold also had gotten better. He's wrapped himself in the covers and inches towards Eliot's body heat. Eliot runs a hand through dark curls.

"You're worth it," he whispers into Nate's ear. Then he taps Nate's ear. He's up on his feet and rejoining the others. The TV is soft background noise.

Nate squints and eye at the retreating back; he smiles. "Thanks" he mutters and then he turns over to go back to sleep.

**THE END**


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